Welch dons a fur coat, leather gloves and a bear mask for work these days, then enters an enclosure to feed and fawn over a 12-pound black bear cub who she hopes will consider her family.

The orphaned cub was about two months old when he was found in Los Padres National Forest -- weak, underweight and alone.

When staff interact with the cub, they are usually garbed head-to-toe in a bear costume. They wear a bear mask and an ...

Biologists hope they can return him to the wilderness next year, provided he can learn to find food, seek shelter and avoid ...

A Ramona Wildlife Center pygmy hippo that was rescued more than two decades ago broke a world record this weekend by becoming ...

Beyond their bear costumes, staff have also created two habitats for the cub - one inside and one enclosed outside - that ...

Welch and her team at the San Diego Humane Society use costumed caregivers to rehabilitate an orphaned black bear cub in ...